Football Remembers exhibition

12 August 2014

Thirty-four schools across England have been shortlisted in the Football Remembers national competition to design a permanent memorial to the football matches played along the Western Front during the Christmas Truce in December 1914.

The competition is part of the Football Remembers project organised by the British Council, The Football Association, The Football League and the Premier League. The two judges are HRH The Duke of Cambridge, President of The FA, and Arsenal and England star Theo Walcott, with guidance from the British Council and the National Memorial Arboretum.

In all, 34 schools across the country made the final shortlist - and the winning school will be announced in September. The chosen design will then be made into a permanent memorial to be housed at the National Memorial Arboretum.

Sir Martin Davidson, Chief Executive of the British Council, said: "Along with our partners The FA, The Football League and the Premier League, we are delighted that young people have submitted their designs for the Football Remembers memorial competition in association with the National Memorial Arboretum.

"One of these designs will be chosen by our two judges - the President of the FA, the Duke of Cambridge, and Arsenal and England footballer Theo Walcott - and will then be built at the National Memorial Arboretum.

"The football matches played in no man's land weren't organised or official, but they are remembered and offer inspiration to this day. We would all like congratulate the young people whose designs have been selected for this special exhibition."

All the shortlisted designs have gone on display along with the other finalists at an exhibition at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

As part of the Football Remembers project, more than 30,000 schools across the UK received an education pack with resources to help children learn about the Truce - including eye-witness accounts, photos, drawings and letters from soldiers, some of which have never before been published.